MenuUI

Updated for BeardLib version 3.38.

MenuUI is a built-in menu system in BeardLib that allows you to make menus that are simpler, faster and better looking than the current menu system PD2 has to offer.

Why was it created?

When I started working on the editor I was in a dilemma on whether to use the in game menu system or make my own thing. The normal menu system(aka MenuNodeGUI) is really limited and old. And, it's far too complex for what it's trying to achieve. Plus, not talking about how unfriendly it is when you want to do something more complex.

What does it offer

• Simple yet extensive menu system.

• Text boxes that support copy pasting and have a history table for undo and redo and in general are much more responsive than any input box overkill made.

• Combo Boxes instead of multi choice.

• Multiple ways of positioning an item: menu aligning, absolute positions, position strings and position functions.

• Every item can host items.

MenuUI Object

The root of your menu. This will take care of events to supply to the items such as mouse movement and keyboard input and to toggle your menu.

You can create the menu almost anytime. However, if you're creating it before managers.gui_data gets initialized you'll have to use the "create_items" value callback so MenuUI can create the items when it's ready.

self._menu = MenuUI:new({
    name = "YourMenuName",
    create_items = callback(self, self, "CreateItems"),
})

Parameters

each value in MenuUI classes gets automatically merged into the class, you can add your own values and even replace core functions if you want! However, be careful, as some values are handled by MenuUI and will change from what you initially gave it when initializing the item.

Basic parameters

Parameter	Type	Description
name	String	The name of your MenuUI, can be used to identify it
create_item	Function	The function will always get called when MenuUI finishes building, you don't have to use it if you're building your menu after managers.gui_data gets created but it's recommended to use it either way
layer	Number	The layer is simply the drawing priority for the engine's GUI, if your menu is hidden by the default menus or any other menus you can increase this
enabled	Boolean	Sets the menu enabled or disabled from the moment it's created

Colors/Customization

Parameter	Type	Description
background_color	Color	Color of the background for the MenuUI object.
background_blur	Boolean	Replaces background_color Should the background of the menu be blurred?
help_background_color	Color	Background color of the help popup
help_color	Color	Color of the help popup text
help_font	String	Font of the help popup text
help_font_size	Number	Font size of the help popup text
animate_toggle	Boolean	Should MenuUI show/hide with an animation
show_help_time	Number	How much seconds after the user highlights the item should the help popup show

Functions:

Get

Function	Return Type	Description
Enabled()	Boolean	Whether the menu is enabled or not
MouseInside()	Boolean	If any menu has the mouse inside, useful if your menu has more functions to it
IsMouseActive()	Boolean	Returns true if the menu has a currently active mouse (It might not be active because of another menu that opened after it)
ShouldClose()	Boolean	Should the menu close, returns false if the menu is focused on something
GetItem(String name, Boolean shallow)	Any	Returns an item that has the its name equal to name. shallow searches inside the children too
GetMenu(String name, Boolean shallow)	Any menu	Returns a menu that has the its name equal to name. shallow searches inside the children too
GetBackground()	Color	Returns the background color
GetItemByLabel(String label, Boolean shallow)	Any	Returns an item that has the its label equal to label. shallow searches inside the children too
Focused()	Boolean	Returns true if any menu has a highlighted item or user is currently typing in an inputbox
Typing()	Boolean	Returns true if the user is typing in an inputbox
Param(Stringh param)	Any	Returns the value of a parameter with the name of param

Set

Function	Description
SetEnabled(Boolean enabled)	Toggles the menu based on enabled value
SetParam(String param, Any value)	Sets the value of parameter with the name of param to value
ReloadInterface(Table params, Boolean shallow)	A function that reloads MenuUI's interface. Currently only works properly for MenuUI. params Parameters to update, shallow Reload only MenuUI?

Other

Function	Description
Enable()	Enables the menu
Disable()	Disables the menu
Toggle()	Toggles the menu, if its enabled then it will disable the menu if not it will enable it
HideHelp()	Hides any visible help popup
CloseLastList()	Closes the last opened list (not popup menus)
Destroy()	Destroys the menu entirely
RemoveItem(Item item)	Destroys item (You can also use item:Destroy() which does the same thing)

Item creation functions

MenuUI can only build menus (although items can be menus they are still considered "items") Each item creation function takes the params as its first parameter. params is essentially the parameters of the menu.

Function	Description
Holder(Table params)	Creates a holder
Menu(Table params)	Creates a menu
Group(Table params)/DivGroup(Table params)	Creates a group (DivGroup is Group with divider_type set to true)
NoteBook(Table params)	Creates a notebook
ToolBox(Table params)	Creates a holder that has align set to "grid" which means items stack from left, perfect for toolbars
PopupMenu(Table params)	Creates a popup menu

All items

MenuUI has a few items. Each item can be a menu but menus are always menus. Meaning that items by default are not menus; they don't run any menu events. But, if you add an item to the item it will act like a menu. This is done to have a button inside a button for example. All items inherit the Item class!

Read about Item before reading about any other item. As all items, including menus, inherit it. Most of the menu functions are documented there too.

• Item/Button/Divider

• Menus

• Toggle

• ComboBox

• Slider

• TextBox/NumberBox/ColorTextBox

• KeyBind

• Image/ImageButton